1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to illumination devices that employ compact solid-state light emitting devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or laser diodes. More particularly, this invention relates to wide-area LED illumination panels. Embodiments described herein also relate to systems that incorporate such wide-area LED illumination panels, such as for example, lighting fixtures or luminaires, electronic displays, illuminated signs, traffic signs, automotive lights, and the like. Embodiments described herein further relate to methods for forming flexible LED illumination devices.
2. Description of Background Art
Conventionally, wide-area illumination systems employing inorganic light emitting diodes include multiple interconnected LED packages distributed over a surface area of a substrate. Each LED package typically includes one or more LED chips or die encapsulated with an optically transmissive plastic material which may optionally contain various types of phosphors for optical wavelength conversion. The conventional wide-area LED illumination systems may exhibit certain limitations such as difficulty to outcouple light within a small form factor of individual LED packages and incorporating multiple LED packages into flexible panels having space- and optically-efficient structure.